"Congratulations to Gareth Bale for being named player of the year and young player of the year," Mata wrote on his blog for Grada360.com. "He's a superb player with amazing skills and he's only 23 years old.

"I couldn't have thought about a better way to celebrate [my birthday] than a victory and the company of my family and friends.

"We managed to beat a competitive Swansea, a team with some friends of mine like Pablo [Hernandez] and Michu.

"[They are] three key points in our aim to be in the next Champions League, even more after Arsenal and Tottenham's draws [against Manchester United and Wigan respectively]."